24 March 2026
Without Odi: the final giant slalom showdown
The first run of the men's final giant slalom ended in a major surprise. World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, who had won the giant slalom Small Crystal Globe for four consecutive seasons, went out after starting with bib number one. This gave his main rival, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, an excellent chance to win the World Cup title in this discipline. Before the race, the Swiss led the Brazilian by 48 points in the giant slalom standings, and now he can only wait for the second run to finish.
If Braathen stays in the lead, he will win the giant slalom World Cup title
Lucas now needs to finish no lower than fourth to win the globe - the first of his career in giant slalom and the first under the Brazilian flag. Lucas had an excellent first run and leads by 0.21 seconds. Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner is second, with Loïc Meillard third, +0.63. If Braathen goes out in the second run or fails to score World Cup points, which are awarded only to the top 15, and Meillard wins the race, Loïc could take the giant slalom globe.
If Braathen stays in the lead, he will win the giant slalom World Cup title
Lucas now needs to finish no lower than fourth to win the globe - the first of his career in giant slalom and the first under the Brazilian flag. Lucas had an excellent first run and leads by 0.21 seconds. Austrian Stefan Brennsteiner is second, with Loïc Meillard third, +0.63. If Braathen goes out in the second run or fails to score World Cup points, which are awarded only to the top 15, and Meillard wins the race, Loïc could take the giant slalom globe.
Alpine Skiing World Cup (men). Lillehammer (Norway)
Giant slalom. First-run results.
| 1 | 4 | Lucas Pinheiro Braathen | Brazil | 1:11.24 | +0.00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | Stefan Brennsteiner | Austria | 1:11.45 | +0.21 |
| 3 | 7 | Loïc Meillard | Switzerland | 1:11.87 | +0.63 |
| 4 | 10 | Fabian Gratz | Germany | 1:12.01 | +0.77 |
| 5 | 5 | Atle Lie McGrath | Norway | 1:12.21 | +0.97 |
| 6 | 6 | Marco Schwarz | Austria | 1:12.46 | +1.22 |
| 7 | 15 | Timon Haugan | Norway | 1:12.66 | +1.42 |
| 8 | 13 | Leo Anguenot | France | 1:12.75 | +1.51 |
| 8 | 12 | Sam Maes | Belgium | 1:12.75 | +1.51 |
| 10 | 3 | Henrik Kristoffersen | Norway | 1:12.80 | +1.56 |
After the first run, the best-placed Norwegian was Atle Lie McGrath, who is fifth, 0.97 seconds behind. Atle pushed German Fabian Gratz into fourth place; Gratz is 0.77 seconds behind Lucas. Among those who failed to finish the first run, besides Odermatt, were Raphael Haaser, Alban Elezi Cannaferina and Thibault Favrot.
Photo: footage from the SRF Sport television channel 13:58 24.03.26